The deepest of Republican values is to respect states’ rights, but attorney general Jeff Sessions isn’t doing so by asking Congress to let him prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries.

Sessions wrote a letter to Congress in May requesting protections of state marijuana laws that have been in effect since 2014 be undone so he can fill America’s already-full jails and prisons, both rural and urban, with non-violent, drug offenders. The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment doesn’t allow the Justice Department to spend federal dollars preventing states from enforcing their own marijuana laws. If that’s no longer the case, medical marijuana providers can expect Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raids.

In states where medical marijuana is legal, either medically or recreationally, opioid overdose deaths are down considerably. States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8 percent lower annual opioid overdose mortality rates compared with states without medical cannabis laws, a 2014 study revealed.

These sort of Republicans like Sessions are the worst sort because they’re not even Republicans. They’re fascists. Only fascists would have an interest in governing what people do in the privacy of their own homes, including the bedroom.

If you think tax dollars should be spent to take a proven medicine away from people with debilitating pain or illness, you’re no Republican. And no Republican would advocate for bigger government, which is exactly what you’ll get if the Justice Department is allowed to spend your taxes busting medical marijuana providers.

Medical marijuana is supported by 94 percent of Americans according to this Quinnipiac poll. It has bipartisan support in Congress as well, so hopefully your representatives don’t cave to Sessions request. Contact your Senators and Representatives to express your opinion on the matter.